Quick answer
¿Dónde está? · ¿Qué quieres?
No “do”, no word order gymnastics. Add question marks and raise your voice — or start with a question word.
The question words
| qué | what |
| quién | who |
| dónde | where |
| cuándo | when |
| por qué | why |
| cómo | how |
| cuánto | how much |
| cuál | which |
They all carry an accent in questions — that accent is what marks them as a question word.
Yes-or-no questions
Same words, same order, different intonation.
Hablas español.You speak Spanish.
¿Hablas español?Do you speak Spanish?
The upside-down mark
¿ opens the question so the reader knows from the start how to read the sentence. It is not optional in writing.
¿Vienes esta noche?Are you coming tonight?
Memory trick
Whenever you would say "do" or "does" in English, say nothing at all in Spanish.
Typical mistakes
¿Haces tú hablar español?
¿Hablas español?
There is no do-support in Spanish.
¿Porque no vienes?
¿Por qué no vienes?
por qué (two words, accent) asks; porque (one word) answers.
Check yourself
___ es tu profesor?